Empire State index turns negative in May

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
The Empire State manufacturing survey fell into negative territory in May for the first time since January, the New York Fed said Wednesday
The general conditions index fell to a negative 1.4 in May from positive 3.1 in April
Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a positive 3 reading for May
The index is designed so that readings below zero indicate more respondents saw conditions getting worse than better
The new-orders index also fell into negative territory, falling to negative 1.2 from positive 2.2 in April, as did the average employee workweek, which fell to negative 1.1 from 5.7 in April
The Empire State is the first of a host of regional manufacturing sentiment gauges to be released